Registration indicator system



REG J. A. KAVANAGH ISTRATION INDICATOR SYSTEM Filed Nov. 21' 1944 2Sheets-Shea,c l

JOS INVENT() EPH A, /fAVAA/AH ATTORNEY D@ 1o, 1946. J, A KAVANAGH2,412,516

REGISTRATION INDICATOR SYSTEM Y Filed Nov. 2l, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Zi-i soo

.sans` sea .said-l ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 10, 1946 REGISTRATIONINDICATOR SYSTEM Joseph A. Kavanagh, New York, N. Y.,'assignor toInternational Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application November 21, 1944, Serial No.564,523

` 2 Claims.

This invention relates to an "in and "out registration system forinstitutions or businesses where attendance is irregular. For example,the system may be used in hospitals for indicating what doctors are inthe hospital at any particular time.

One object is to provide a system of the kind described whereby anoperator, for example the telephone switchboard operator, can determineinstantly whether a particular person is in or out.

Another object is to provide a system of the kind referred to which issimple and economical to install and to operate. 1

Another object is to provide a system by means of which a largenumber'of individual registration switches can be selectively testedsimply by simultaneously operating two selected switches in twodifferent, relatively small groups.

Another object is to provide an in and out" registration systemcomprising registration switches which can be controlled automaticallyby the insertion of individual cards into related pockets in a cardrack. Thereby, the registration system can be associated with a cardtime l recording system, the registration switches being automaticallycontrolled as the cards are moved into or out of one of the card racks.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the followingdescription and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which disclose, by way of example, the principle of the invention andthe best mode, which has been contemplated, of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is an assembly view of the system.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a circuit diagram.

The registration system comprises an operatoi-s switch box lll and aregistration panel Il, as well as a relay box which does not appear inthe drawings, all interconnected by wires in a cable I3. n the preferredembodiment shown, the registration panel is embodied in the out cardrack of a card time recording system, the latter also including an incard rack l2, and a card time recorder, not shown in the drawings. Insuch time recording systems each person, on checking in, removes hisindividual card from its pocket in the out card rack, inserts it in thetime recorder to stamp the time on it, then inserts it in its pocket inthe in card rack. On checking out the procedure is reversed.

The card racks comprise upright frame memcuits to be described presentlyindicate the con- 2 card pockets I1 to receive the individual cards I8.The out" card rack has mounted on the back of it normally closedregistration switches S, one for each card pocket. Each partition has aslot 20 at the back of theA related pocket, in which is a iiexibletongue 2|, anchored near its upper end at 22 to the partition and bentforward, as shown at 23, so that when a card'is in.

serted in the pocket the tongue 2| will be forced back and its lower endwill lift the contact spring 24, to open the normally closed contacts S.The card racks, in this case are provided with one hundred pockets,twenty-five in each vertical row. The different switches S and theiroperators are laterally staggered, to avoid .interference due to theirvertical overlap.

The operators switch box I0 is provided with two rows of push buttonswitches A and B, the buttons of each row being numbered, respectively0, 1 8, 9. The 100 cards 18, and their related pockets, are numberedfrom 00 to 99, respectively, and, by pressing the proper pair of buttonsin the two rows, the operator c can identify any individualcard pocket,to test the condition of its switch S. The switch box Hl has an out lamp25 and an in lamp 26, which, by means of cirdition of a particularregistration switch S, when are closed.

Operation The operation of the system will now be described by referenceto a particular example. Suppose the operator to have a call for Dr.Smith. An examination of Dr. Smiths card 2l, in a card le 2t,conveniently located in the switch box lil, shows the registrationnumber of Dr. Smith to be 09. The operator presses the o button in the Acolumn and the 9 button in the B column. If Dr. Smith has checked in,that is, has moved his card i8 from the out rack to the in rack, therelated switch S will be closed and the following circuits will becompleted: from the lower terminal 30 of a transformer 3l (connected bya plug 32 to the power supply) one circuit extends through wire 33, themiddle contact of the 0 switch of row A to the upper contact of saidswitch, thence, through wire 36, relay coil R, wire 35, to the upperterminal 35 of the transformer 3i, energizing the group relay Rt andcausing all its contacts to be connected to the wire 35.

rI'he second circuit extends from the lower ter bers l and partitions l5therebetween, forming 55 minal 3@ of the transformer, through wires 33and 31. indicator relay coil Ri, wire Il. the contacts of switch 9 ofrow B, main branch wire 39, registration contacts S09, sub-branch wireI0, contacts a of relay R0. and wire 35, to the upper terminal 38 of thetransformer, energizing the indicator relay coil RIII and causing thecontact spring 4| thereof to transfer to lower position.

A third circuit extends from the lower terminal ll of the transformer,through wire 33, the middle and lower contacts of switch ,0 of the Arow, wire I2, the a contacts of relay RIU, the "in lamp 26, to wire 35and the upper terminal 3l of the transformer 3i. illuminating said lampshowing that Dr. Smith has checked in.

If Dr. Smith had not been checked in, the contacts would have been openand the relay RH! would not have been energized. Therefore, the lampcircuit would have extended from wire 42 through the b contacts of relayRIU, the ou lamp 25, towire 35 and the upper terminal 36 of thetransformer. illuminating said lamp and showing that Dr. Smith had notchecked in.

In a similar way any other registration switch S" to SIA! can be testedand the signal lamps 2l or 2l will show Whether the doctor to whom anyregistration switch pertains is out or in.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out thefundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a singlemodification, it will be understood that various omissions andsubstitutions and changes in the form and details of the deviceillustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in theart, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is theintention, therefore, to .be limited only as indicated by the scope ofthe following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an annunciator system for indicating in and out registration of anumber of people individually identified by diilerent combinations ofdigits selected from two groups, an operator station comprising a set ofrst digit switches and a set of second digit switches, a set of grouprelays including one relay for each rst digit switch. each of said grouprelays having normally open contacts, one for each second digit switch,which are closed when the relay is energized, an indicator relay havingnormally open ing a number of normally open registration switches, onefor each different combination of digits, energizing circuit means forthe coil of said indicator relay including a number of main branchcircuits each including a dierent one of said second digit switches. anda number of subbranch circuits in sexies with each main branch circuit.each sub-branch circuit includinga different one of said registrationswitches and an individual .one of said group relay contacts, and anindicator circuit including indicating means and said indicator relaycontacts, said indicator circuit also including a number of branches,one for each digit of one of said sets, each branch including normallyopen contacts adapted to be closed by the related switch of said lastmentioned set.

2. In an annunciator system for indicating in and "out" registration ofa number of people individually identified by diierent combinations ofdigits selected from two groups, an operator station comprising a set offirst digit switches and a set of second digit switches, a set of grouprelays including one relay for each rst digit switch, each of said grouprelays having normally open contacts, one for each second digit switch,which are closed when the relay is energlzed, an indicator relay havingnormally open contacts and normally closed contacts, a registrationpanel comprising a number of normally open registration switches, onefor each diierent combination of digits, energizing circuit means inbranch and an out branch, said branches including "in" and outindicating means, respectively, said in" branch including the normallyopen contacts of said indicator relay while said out branch includes thenormally closed contacts of said indicator relay, said indicator circuitalso including a common conductor, and means operated by any switch ofone of said sets of digit switches for connecting said common conductorto a source of current.

JOSEPH A. KAVAN AGH.

